Frank Steenburgh

Frank D. Steenburgh, partner at New Direction Partners, brings over 45 years of industry experience, including the past 30 years in digital and is internationally recognized as an expert in digital printing and publishing. His experience includes corporate officer at Xerox and president of Indigo’s Americas operations. Frank’s value includes a wealth of global industry contacts, a proven track record in development and implementation of business strategies that drive revenue/profit growth and a deep understanding of horizontal and vertical markets. Contact him at (610) 230-0635, ext. 709.

At New Direction Partners, we have seen that once a company has made its first successful geographic expansion, the experience may pique interest in making others. However it is accomplished, geographic expansion brings a range of strategic benefits to the buyer.

Negotiation is the most critical step in our six-stage journey toward a deal — the phase in which the transaction either comes together as the negotiators want it to or falls apart because their efforts have worn them out.

The sale of a company can’t proceed until the owner has a good handle on value, and many of our conversations about establishing it naturally are with clients who are taking their first steps toward selling. But, we also urge clients who aren’t in selling mode to conduct valuation as a strategic exercise for sound financial management.

All told, the content value chain represents a $1 trillion market—and printing is the least profitable piece of it. If the bulk of your revenue comes from printing, you have a major incentive to find new sources in areas of the value chain you are not currently addressing. With the right guidance and the appropriate systems and equipment, you can learn to leverage these lucrative opportunities.

If you are in the market to acquire, chances are excellent right now that the type of company you want exists and is in play. Even with the maturing and consolidation of the industry, the base remains remarkably diversified in terms of process, product and sales volume. As we and our other New Direction Partners colleagues have been reporting recently, M&A activity around these companies is finally back to its pre-recession level—a strong signal to buyers that the time to act is now.

It’s a great time to sell a printing or a packaging business. But, as favorable as market conditions may be, is it your time? There are a number of other things to consider before you hang out the "for sale" sign.

You shouldn’t think about “campaigning” in the M&A marketplace unless, and until, you have a firm handle on your company’s valuation. New Direction Partners has performed more valuations in the printing industry than any other consultancy, and that experience has taught us to identify a number of factors that enhance a company’s value.

Once upon a time, printing and packaging could get by without being data-driven, and so could M&As. This was because in those days, a lot of dealmaking took place locally. If you were a printer in Rochester, NY, for example, you probably knew personally all of the likely candidates in the Rochester area. If you were an M&A consultant, a well-thumbed Rolodex was your most frequently used tool. Personal relationships are still important in M&As, but the geography is bigger.